Saturday, December 18, 2010

Here's a hot freebie, Excedrin Extra Strength (up to $5.99 value) . Just click on “Free Offer” and you’ll be asked for your mailing address. This is a new offer, so you can ask for it even if you got the other recent Excedrin freebie.

Love, love, love, my Flip. I have last years HD version, and it rocks. It's super easy to use and compact so you can throw it in your pocket or purse. You can use it right out of the package, and then plug it into your computer because the device itself has the program pre-loaded onto it. It will walk you through how to set it up on your computer. This would be a great holiday gift. This is a great deal. Hurry, sale ends today.

I got this cute can and a few others in the $1 section at Target. I knew I'd be able to use them for gifts. You could also add cookies, christmas candies or any other homemade or store bought treats in them.

Pretzel Sticks:

1 Bag Pretzel Sticks

1 Package of White Chocolate Morsels

Directions:

Melt chocolate in a double b roiler or in the microwave. Use a spoon to pour chocolate over the ends of the sticks. Let harden on a sheet of wax paper/parchment paper.

* To make it a little more festive, add a few holiday colored sprinkles when the chocolate is still wet.*

Monday, December 13, 2010

This is one of my favorite things to whip together. It's actually a pretty cheap meal, if you have the chicken already.

Vegetable and Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breast

1/4 Small Red Onion Chopped

Box of Angel Hair Pasta (I used white, but the wheat is good too)2 Small Zucchini2 Small SquashHand Full of Italian Parsley Chopped (or from your spice cabinet)1/4 C. Balsamic Vinegar3-4 Tbs. of Extra Virgin Olive OilSmall Container of Cherry TomatoesSalt and Pepper to Taste2 Small Lemons1 tsp. Lemon Zest

Directions:
Heat up 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and then brown your onions. After a few minutes, add your chicken at a low heat. Once the chicken is about half way done, start your pot of water and cook noodles according to package. Then add your chopped zucchini, squash, parsley, vinegar, and lemon zest. Then cut your lemons in half and squeeze the juice over the mixture. Make sure to keep the seeds from getting into your chicken and veggies. Once the chicken and vegetables are finished cooking, add the cherry tomatoes. These do not need to cook long, about 3-5 minutes. Then add your chicken and vegetables to a large bowl with the cooked pasta. I will add a small amount of olive oil at this point just to make sure everything is coated.

Wow, I can't believe that I forgot to post this! I made this for Elle a few months ago, using MomDot's tutorial. It is a super easy tutu, that looks so adorable. I even made another one for Elle's Christmas photo.

TuTu

Materials:

Scissors

Colored Tulle (about the width of 6 inches, if you get it from the bolt, you'll have to cut it down.)

Begin by determining how much elastic you will need. Instead of measuring Elle's Belly, I just took a pair of her pants and measured the front and doubled it. It's currently 18 inches (9 Months Clothing). Next, cut the elastic to the size waist band that you need adding about a half an inch so that you have a little extra to sew the edges.

Next, sew your to ends together creating a seam. Make sure to go back and forth over the edges to ensure strength.

Then take your child's pants again and measure the length of the leg. I cut my tulle 24 inches. This way, when I do the tying of the knots, the length will be cut in half to 12 inches. Cut about 20 yards worth of tulle strips.

Then, decide how you want to design your colors. For example, on the pink one I did pink and white ever other. On the red tu tu, I threw in a white piece of tulle on every fifth knot.

Once you have all of your tulle cut, take one piece and gather it in the middle by folding the piece in half. Then use a slip knot to secure your tulle around the elastic. (In momdot's tutorial she suggested putting your elastic around something that would pull it taught, I had no problem with out putting it around anything.)

You'll want to keep the knots close together so that your tu tu is full.

Momdot suggests using a bow to cover the seam of the elastic, but I was able to tie a slip knot over the seam so that it didn't show.

Because I wanted to use the fabric so that Elle's clip would match, I made a few adjustments to my tutorial. Here's what I did...

I measured the length of the fabric to be about 1 1/2 x 2 inches. Then I folded over the edges to have clean edges. Then I used heat and bond to cover one of the folds.Then I ironed the adhesive and then folded the other edge over it and ironed.

I did the same thing with the end for the side that had the clip.

Rather than using Velcro like I normally do, I decided to try the snap and eylete instead. Sometimes I feel like the Velcro can get too dirty and it can peal off if you don't have it sewn well enough.

Directions:
First, mix all dry ingredients. Then, add oil and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until reaching the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and add flavoring and food coloring. Divide into balls and work in color by kneading the play-dough.

If you want to create a variety of scents, divide your recipe and use two different pots.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Here are some really cute FREE printable gift tags. No mix ups! Ha, my mommy never writes the names on the gifts because she "remembers" which ones are for who. But I remember many times ripping into a gift as a child, and finding a football jersey or boys shirt. Then my siblings would of course yell at me, like I was the crazy kid who just rips everything open! Ahhh, memories! ;) I love the holidays!